San Francesco is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located on Via Roma in the town center of

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

, province of Reggio Emilia, region of

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, Italy.

History

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

convent was putatively established in town in 1322, although documentation is scarce. Archeologic studies suggest this convent has structures dating at least to the late 14th century. Documents do verify work in 1443 on the complex. The church was apparently rebuilt in 1463-1490 under the patronage of Manfredo II of Correggio and his wife Agnese Pio. Over the next century the convent gained a second cloister and more dormitories. Further construction continued over the following centuries, including designs for a refurbishment of the monastery in 1766 by the architect

Francesco Cipriano Forti Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is one of the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation) ...

. In 1846, his grandson Francesco Forti, continued work on the convent. In 1926, the church underwent restoration. The earthquake of October 15, 1996 damaged the structure of the church and its bell tower. Extensive restorations have been pursued since. Little movable artwork remains. The interior structure has a central nave separated from lateral aisles by brick columns and pilasters. The vaults are ribbed in

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

-style.

This church once housed two important works by

Antonio Allegri Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

: the ''

Madonna and Child with St Francis ''Madonna and Child with St Francis'' or ''Madonna of St Francis'' is a 1514–1515 painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Correggio, now held in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany. It shows Francis of Assisi, with the sti ...

'' (1514-1515), now in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, was the main altarpiece, and the '' Rest on the Flight to Egypt with St Francis'' (1520) is now at the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

in Florence. Allegri was buried in this church in 1534, in tombs with his family. The painting of the ''Madonna'' was removed by the Duke Francesco I d'Este in 1636.Comune of Correggio
entry on church.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Correggio 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{EmiliaRomagna-RC-church-stub